Bunks beds have traditionally been designed for and used primarily by small children and, for this reason, some of the foremost concerns of both bedding manufacturers and parents are the safety features incorporated in the bunk beds. As a result of this concern for safety, a ladder providing safe and easy access to the upper bunk has become a standard accessory to most bunk beds. Various means of attaching the ladder to the bunk beds have been employed in the past, but regardless of the particular attachment means employed, the means of attachment must sufficiently secure the ladder to prevent inadvertent movement or disengagement thereof from the upper bunk while allowing removal of the ladder from the upper bunk when desired.
A common means of attaching a bunk bed ladder to the upper bunk is a hook type bracket attached to each of the vertical members of the ladder and which simply hooks over a horizontally extending frame member of the upper bunk. Another bracket attachment, which is also affixed to the vertical ladder members and is designed to snap around a horizontally extending frame member of the upper bunk, has also been employed in the past to secure bunk bed ladders to the upper bunk. However, when either of these mounting brackets is employed, the ladder is easily slidable along the horizontal frame member and may be easily lifted off the frame member inadvertently, therefore being generally unacceptable for use on children's bunk beds.
In contrast, the present invention provides a mounting assembly for bunk bed ladders and the like allowing the ladder to be easily and removably mounted on the upper bunk of a bunk bed or the like in a manner which prevents lateral movement of the ladder and resists inadvertent withdrawal or removal thereof.